The Difference Between This And That
by ogre heart
Summary: Suzuya, Tsukiko, holding hands, and questions that only little girls would ask.


It was a week and a half after Suzuya's eighth birthday. It was a Friday, so Tsukiko was allowed to sleep over. (Although, sometimes, Tsukiko was allowed to stay over during the weekdays, too, since they and even Kanata went to the same school, and the same class.) After bathing them both, Suzuya's mother tucked them both in, side by side. Each of them were given a peck on the cheek, the light was turned off, and the door was closed.

It was raining. The constant pitter-patter was rythmic, and helped greatly in lulling the boy to sleep.

"It's too bad Kanata couldn't come."

- But just as he was about to slip into that unconscious world, Tsukiko spoke up, her tiny voice waking him. He nodded once, lazily, and responded. "Yeah... but he had to stay home. It's okay."

He felt Tsukiko shift next to him, and turned to look at her. Her hair was down, and it was long, much longer than his mom's. Sometimes he was surprised hair could grow that long, but it made Tsukiko look a lot like Rapunzel, and he was pretty okay with that. In his mind, she was a princess, anyway. She certainly ilooked/i like one, but she also iacted/i like one, sometimes. She seemed so brave and honest, but at times she was fairly delicate. He liked that about her, how she was capable of being there for people, and how she needed someone there to support her. It was just like a princess - but Suzuya wasn't quite sure little boys could be princes, so he just took to being her best friend. That was fine, for now.

Maybe when he was older, when he was taller than her, instead of the same height, maybe then - maybe then he could be a prince for her. Maybe then he'd be strong enough to be a prince.

"I know," Tsukiko said, and she stared over at him a little longer. "Maybe we can have another sleepover when he feels better."

"Yup. That'd be fun."

"And we can watch Dumbo again."

"I think he'd like that a lot."

"Yup. But what if he gets scared at the part with all the pink?"

"Then I'll calm him down. Okay?"

"M'kay," said Tsukiko, apparently satisfied. She moved from her side to her back again, and stared up at the ceiling. Suzuya, on the other hand, turned over to face the window and stare at the falling rain through the open blinds. She fell quiet for a bit longer, so Suzuya closed his eyes and tried to sleep again.

"Suzu-chan," came Tsukiko's tiny voice yet again.

This time, Suzuya turned over to look at her, a tired smile on his face. "Yup?"

"I'm scared."

"Why?," Suzuya responded, tiny thin eyebrows raised.

"That movie scared me," she admitted, a sheepish smile on her face. Immediately, she pulled the blanket up and up, so that all Suzuya could see was her the top of her head and her big, brown eyes.

"Oh," Suzuya said with a chuckle, and then he held up his hand. "Well," he began, and then he dipped his hands under the covers, lacing his fingers with Tsukiko's. "My mom taught me that if you hold hands while you sleep, you'll be in the same dream."

Tsukiko's eyes went wide with childish wonder, and she slowly let the blanket down from her face. "Really?"

"Uh huh." Suzuya's hand gripped her's tighter, as though to prove his point. He smiled over at her, as gently and as reassuringly as he could muster. It seemed to work, since Tsukiko smiled back and tightened her grip, too.

"Okay," she said, and she giggled. "But what about the monsters?"

"Monsters-?"

"You know! The ones that hide where it's darkest in the room. What about them?"

"What if they come to get you?"

"Us," Tsukiko corrected with her cheeks puffed disapprovingly.

"... Right, us," and Suzuya didn't bother telling her they were a little too old to be believing in monsters, but he also didn't dislike being able to comfort her, so perhaps the gesture was more than a little selfish. Still, wearing that same smile, he sighed and said, "I guess I'll have to fight them off. Right?"

"Like a knight in shining armor? Haha... Suzuya's more like a mom, though!"

"...Really... well," and so Suzuya thought and thought. He thought, for a good while, and Tsukiko waited patiently. Their hands tightly clasped together the entire time - Suzuya hadn't felt this warm in a long time. The last time, he'd held his mom's hand while they slept. But this- ithis/i - was an entirely different sort of warm. It was the kind of warm that reminded him of hot chocolate on a cold winter day, or when your dog jumps up to welcome you home after a hard day at school, or when you made the winning goal for the game. It was a special, personal sort of warmth that he felt from the tips of his fingers to the tips of his toes. Suzuya... liked it. It was inviting. It was different from the feeling he got with his mother: His heart iached/i. He wasn't quite sure when it started, but he knew, Immediately, what he wanted to say.

"Then we'll get married."

"Really? And you'll fight the monsters forever for me?"

"Uh huh."

"That's really nice. Suzuya really is like a mom! Thanks, Suzuya."

"... You're welcome. Tsukiko..."

"Oh!," but Tsukiko looked up at him urgently, her expression suddenly very serious. And she continued, "What about Kanata?"

"Huh... Well, he'll cry if we leave him out and... I don't want to leave him out, anyway, so, I guess we should all get married to each other!"

"That's a great idea. You have all the answers, huh, Suzuya...?"

The boy paused, not quite sure how to respond to that. He shrugged once, to show he didn't know. Still, he responded, softly, "Who knows."

"I think you have good ideas," Tsukiko assured him, as though she knew very well that she could rely on Suzuya to have all the answers. Suzuya peered at her through the corner of his eyes, and she stared back, right into his own blue eyes. Suzuya decided, to himself, that he'd work as hard as he could to keep her thinking like that. For her to think of him like someone who had the answers to all of life's questions, it wasn't quite a prince, but it was good enough. And then, later, when he could try to be a prince, well... he hadn't quite thought of then. It was all right, though, he could think about it.

"Thanks," he said.

"One more question!"

"...Yeah?" Suzuya turned his head fully to look her in the eyes.

"I was wondering... What's the difference between a husband and a prince?"

- Of course, at first, he wasn't quite sure how to answer ithat/i particular question. So, he took a moment, turning his head to stare at the ceiling. After a long, long pause, he finally answered, a hesitant tone to his voice, "Love... I guess."

"Love?"

"Well," he paused, and looked over to the window, a light blush creeping across his cheeks - why he was blushing he wasn't quite sure, but he tried to ignore it. "'Cus... a prince doesn't really have to love the princess, right? Just save her... But a husband always loves his wife, right?"

"Wow," Tsukiko once more marveled at Suzuya's 'intelligence' and giggled. "Suzuya, you really ido/i have all the answers! I love you, too."

"-What?"

"Well... you said you'd marry me, right? So, you love me, don't you?"

"... Yeah. I do. I love you, Tsukiko."

"And I love Suzuya! Oh, and Kanata, too, even though he's a crybaby."

"Haha," Suzuya looked back over at her, his smile not quite reaching his eyes, "Yeah. I love Kanata, too. I love you both."

Tsukiko giggled, and said, "We'll be the best married couple!"

"I think it's trio, Tsukiko. Couple is two people."

"...Oh. Married trio, then..."

"Uh huh."

"Suzu-chan?"

"Yup?"

"Good night."

"Good night, Tsukiko."

Suzuya was quite sure from then on that he loved Tsukiko, and that being her husband sounded much better than being her prince. 


End file.
